“I’ve got ta get back to the docks now, the Triton won’t sail ‘erself!” - Hazel, In My Restless Dreams (Chapter 6)
Hazel T. Heron is a minor character in In My Restless Dreams. She serves as a surrogate parental figure to a younger Bucky and Walter, and is the captain of the Triton.
Appearance[]
Hazel is a blue heron, with white and blue feathers, golden eyes, with a yellow-orange beak and legs. She wears a sailor uniform nearly identical to Bucky's, with a white vest with black buttons, and a blue scarf. Her cap is blue with a black rim and a metallic gold ornament on the front. Her hat casts a shadow over her eyes, mimicking the stripe on a heron's face.
Personality[]
Around a young Bucky and Walter, Hazel is protective, with a motherly demeanor. However, she only worries for them being on their own after Walter's accident[1], and feels a heavy responsibility for their safety. Initially, she is mostly detached, taking care of them out of self-obligation, valuing her work and independence over taking care of kids[2]. She warms up to them more eventually, their friendly interactions evolving into an almost familial bond. Bucky sees her less as a caregiver than Walter does, given that he raised his younger brother for years before Hazel took them in.
On her own, she is loud and spirited, to the point some likely find her obnoxious. She sees sailing and the ocean as her whole life, and combined with her spouse's occupation as a pilot, she is often isolated. She is friendly on a surface level, able to make friends and acquaintences, but she values her freedom and independence over almost everything else in her life. Bucky and Walter already being somewhat independent when she takes them in definitely makes it easier for her to take on the responisibility.
She suffers from a fairly old-fashioned view of disability, working herself to exhaustion in spite of her own respiratory and immune issues. Hazel tends to view her uncontrollable health issues as a weakness, something she won't let stop her from doing what other captains can. Despite this, as she gets older, she doesn't understand why she is almost constantly fatigued.
History[]
Hazel grew up with overprotective parents, due to her health issues and tendency to fall ill. She was rebellious though, which eventually caused her running away as soon as she was able. She was drawn to the freedom that sailing provided, and it led to her working at the docks, meeting the people that would become her crew, and eventually becoming the captain of the Triton. The lack of a stable early life and her parents' overprotectiveness led to her wild and occassionally irresponsible personality.
Hazel takes in Bucky and Walter when they're fairly young, giving them more experienced guidance in sailing while still avoiding the hovering nature of her own parents. Her previous lackadaisical behavior towards them becomes far more serious after the accident, and she resolves to at least give them a place to stay. She acknowledges that Bucky was forced to grow up very quickly, allowing him to raise Walter alongside her, rather than unsheltered and on his own. She isn't used to being a parent and didn't have much of a role model to do so, leading her to treat the kids like close nephews rather than her own children.
She teaches Bucky and Walter to be sailors, and when she gets older and falls seriously ill, she decides to leave her ship, and her scarf, to Bucky and Walter. She passes away[3] when the brothers are in their late teens to early 20s.
Trivia[]
- In In My Restless Dreams, Walter's captain's hat is a hand-me-down from Hazel. [4]
- Hazel is Scottish. [5]
- ↑ "Just as he reaches towards...his brother, a stray wave knocks the upturned boat into the back of Walter’s head." - In My Restless Dreams, Chapter 6: Promises
- ↑ ”What happened to ‘I’ll chew off a wing before I have kids’?” - Laverne, in In My Restless Dreams (Chapter 9: Wolves and Sheep)
- ↑ "its ok, the heron dies of natural causes, its not some horrible accident or anything" - underratedgrapejuice on Discord (8/14/2024)
- ↑ "i think, when the heron dies, since the loon can't really walk that well, she leaves her scarf and the ship itself to bucky and walter" - underratedgrapejuice on Discord (8/14/2024)
- ↑ "Oh fuck 2/3 of my sw64 ocs are Scottish SHIT" - underratedgrapejuice on Discord (9/28/2024)